Wii Trial Browser Review

Wii Trial Browser Review

Well I tried it and my opinion is....passable. Keep in mind that this browser is still unfinished and missing some functionality. The point and click interface simplifies the browsing experience, but maybe a little too much. At times one forgets that pretty much all operations are preset to the Wiimote's buttons. Unlike most browsers, even the psp's, have the ability to adjust the size of the text on the screen (i.e. a preset zoom if you will). However the Wii's opera browser forces the operator to zoom in with th + button and direct the view of the page by pressing the B trigger to pan the image on the screen. This takes some time to do and can be a bit annoying at times, but it isn't unbearable. At the current moment the lack of functionality kinda kills the experience. Outside of being able display all html, most javascript and flash (which puts it leaps and bounds over the PSP browser), the inability to interface with on-page resources kind of places it under the standard of browsers. What I mean is that you cannot save things such as a jpeg to the SD card or the Wii system memory (whereas on the PSP, one can do this with ease). Also, things such as hosted, or streaming movies are nigh impossible to play (especially on sites that require user authentication. The only hosted videos that I was able to find were those from myspace and YouTube- all others require an Opera plug-in that probably doesn't exist at this moment in early development (in terms of Wii Software design- i.e. written in a code compatible with the Wii firmware). For authenticated streaming videos and pictures, a BAD Referral error occurs, on sites that use javascript for page advancement (opens a new page over the last one), due to a lack of a browser cache on the system. Without this, your system cannot save an authentication cookie that is read by the video-streaming software on their servers in order to play the video, or to open exclusive galleries. Also this lack of a cache makes playing streaming videos on the system impossible altogether since the videos cannot save temporary files to the system. Lastly, what's particularly a hassle on the browser is the lack of an address bar. In order to plug in a new address, you must return to the Opera's start page and type it in which can take a while with the wiimote- but still faster than the horrible typing interface of the psp. Altogether it is not a bad browser, but it isn't the best either. What should be done? First, correct the problems stated above, which aren't major. Secondly, move the browsing resources onto the screen for those familiar with computer browsers. Also, have an active address bar on the top of the page to reduce backtracking. Third, allow the saving of files directly from the internet (pictures at least, so we can toy with the photo channel). Lastly, have somebody come up with a keyboard peripheral. The wii control, is great for the mouse aspect, but things will be far more simplified with a keyboard if you are going to type.